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Elaboration of the Maduro Cheese

The milk of sheep, the main raw material for the production of LAVRVS artisan cheeses, and we always start from natural milk of own cattle of Zamora

And it is that depending on the origin of the milk and the pastures, the final result of the cheese can vary notably as much in flavor as in texture and postsabor.

From the milk of great quality the best cheeses are obtained, together with an optimal elaboration and conservation, we obtain the quality of the cheese that we so desire.

But what is cheese really made of?

Lactose: Directly related to texture, flavor and maturation.

Water: it favors the microbial growth and therefore the maturation, affects the texture and yield, influencing the life of the cheese.

Fat: Affects the texture, flavor, yield and color of cheeses.

Casein: Affects performance, taste and smell.

Whey proteins: they contribute with the nutritional value and the maturation. They can affect coagulation.

Minerals: they participate in coagulation, they influence the drainage and texture of the curd.

Coagulating enzymes: in cheeses made by enzymatic or mixed coagulation, coagulant enzymes are an essential element. Due to the increase in the demand for rennet, techniques have been developed for the use of enzymes from microorganisms and vegetables.

Salt (sodium chloride): the salt is added with the main objective of flavoring the cheese, also serves to lengthen its shelf life by slowing microbial growth by decreasing water activity.

ELABORATION

The transformation of milk into cheese generally comprises seven stages:

Milk Treatment

Coagulation

Cutting the curd and its draining

Molding

Pressing

Salty

Tuning or Maturation

TREATMENT OF MILK

This phase consists of filtering the milk to eliminate extraneous macro-substances from its handling. Then you can add or remove cream, depending on the type of cheese you want to make. After this process, the milk must be homogenized to equal the size of the particles that compose it and thus obtain a more uniform texture.

Once these steps have been carried out, the milk is pasteurized in the case of pasteurized milk cheeses and transferred to the processing tanks.

COAGULATION

In the brewing tank the milk is raised to a temperature around 35ºC and added, depending on the type of cheese you want to make, lactic or coagulant enzymes of vegetable or animal type (rennet).

After treatment and coagulation, the milk is transformed from a liquid state to a solid or semi-solid state, due to the agglutination of the micelles of the protein “casein”, forming a gel (curd) that also retains the fat globules, water and salts.

CUTTING THE CUAJADA AND ITS DISPOSAL

Once the coagulation time has elapsed and checking that the gel or curd has the appropriate consistency and texture, it is cut by means of instruments called lyres that present a series of taut and parallel threads to each other. The size of the cut and the punch of the curd (in grains) will determine the type of cheese to be made. As a consequence of said cut an initial drainage of the serum takes place. The next step is to work in the processing tank, the grain by agitation and elevation of the temperature, favoring even more the expulsion of the serum and its union. The last step “the drained” serves to eliminate the whey from the curd.